All the Wrong Colors
by artistfreak99
Summary: AU- Five years ago Colette's father disappeared, leaving with an over-depressed mother. Dave spends every birthday crying his eyes out. However, both Colette and Dave are determined to finally get over their lost husband/father- up until the moment someone contacts the two about a new game; one in which they can get John back.
1. Chapter 1

to me

Your name is Colette Strider, and you are completely losing it.

A few months ago you choose to switch to using your _mothers_ last name, rather than your dads. It was your Junior year, and you were sort of tiring of being called _'Egderp'_ by everyone you knew. You weren't a loner, but you didnt have many friends either. You stop being the bubbly, social girl you were five years ago-right after your dad disappeared.

You took it hard, being only in Primary school(aka middle school), you didn't understand what had happened. A few years later, after you had grown up a little, your _mother_ talked of your father being the best man he ever knew-and **_YES_**, you have gay parents, but you love them all the same.

The reason you choose to keep your fathers last name is mainly because...of the legacy of the Strider family at Abraham Prep. His brother and himself had both been the coolest kids to ever exist, and no one, **NO ONE**, messed wit them. The same was said for you: which happened to be your mothers reasons for you being socially outcast.

Being the totally calm and cool girl you are, you shrugged it off, claiming, "What do I need friends for?"

Although you loved the two friends you had, you honestly couldn't stand being around people. You believe this is because of your dad being gone.

So, as previously said-Junior year, fresh start, new last name-but, same old people.

And in just several days would be your mothers birthday. You always wished you could stop her from crying. Back when your dad was around, you three all spent your birthdays ordering all the take out you could, watching movies as you shared the junkiest food there was to offer.

But now...your mother cried ever time his birthday rolled around, and he would always denied your comfort and told you it was just 'allergies'.

What else can you do, but leave him to cry in peace. You've given up all effort to hold him as he sobs, because with every word you say, every breath you take, he only cries more.

You think, this is because you look so much like your father.

Your hair is short and black, cut in a sleek bob. You never bothered to style it, nor tame it-you let it be. You had his cooking skills, and you both despised Betty Crocker-God was that woman foul.

The one difference, however, was your eyes. The fact was, yo didnt have your mother eyes, nor your dads.

You had, unfortunately, both.

Yes, it is absolutely possible; with your mother's red eyes, and your fathers absolutely perfectly blue ones, you ended up with purple.

Quite an unusual color, as one of your friends had put it. Good ol' Janey, you could always rely on her for her honesty. She was a bit straightforward, but you and her had somehow clicked last year when she moved into town.

What attracted your attention was the symbol on one of her shirts-you had seen as she was moving in the first day.

. .Dads.

With the exception of the color. You figured it was just a coincidence, but coincidence or not, you needed to know who she was.

Anyway, I suppose we should resume present tense, hm?

Right.

Tomorrow morning would be your moms 28th.

Your parents took you in when you were about 5 years of age, both of them only being 18. You were very confused-but you sort of appreciated the fact you forgot everything since before you were 4. Apparently you had led a previously depressing life.

Ah, there we go getting off track again. I assume this is a bit of bother...lets move on.

This time around, you **COULD NOT** let him spend another birthday sulking and crying all day long, reminiscing in memories of shit you were starting to forget-high school was quite a stressful place.

You _didn't enjoy_ the fact that you were slowly starting to forget your dad; you felt quite terrible about it.

"Ah, come on, love, yah can't wallow like your mum does. That won't help anyone in anyway, especially Janey and myself," Jake reassured you the morning of your moms birthday.

God, how could your friends know all the right things to say to you when you felt like you were about to explode.

You took the time to push your shades out of the way, pinching the bridge of your nose, "Jake, I absolutely love you to death, but right now, my head is killin' me, and I'd really love if you'd just be quiet for a little while."

He nodded, patting your back. Jane skipped up next to him, giving you a smile before realizing yo needed to be left alone.

You did this every morning, five days a week. Not once did you guys bail on walking to school together; even if you were sick, you'd message each other on pesterchum and tell them what was wrong and why you wouldnt be at school.

However, you were the exception to this rule. Even on your birthday, all three of you would skip school and they would spend the day trying to cheer you up. It woould work, right up until the moment you broke down in tears.

As soon as you arrive at school, you head straight to your locker, grabbing your things for class. You don't waste time in getting there, not even waiting for Jane to catch up with you.

"Hey! Come on, Collie. Cheer up a bit...I've got a surprise for your mom!" She grinned, taking a seat next to you as you rest your head in your hands on your desk.

"What is it, Janey?" You sigh, closing your eyes. Today of all days, she should **NOT** be surprising your mother in ANY way.

"I made her a cake. And I swear its from scratch this time! I even used your dads old recipe."

"How did you get that?" You snapped, sitting up and looking at her.

"Huh? Oh! I found it in my mailbox the other day. It wasn't you who gave it to me?"

"No, Jane. I wouldn't give that kind of thing away easily...how would you even know it was from me?"

Jane tilted her head, giving you a strange look, "It was in your handwriting, silly! No one else could write as nice as you." She smiled, turning to look at the front of the room as the bell rang.

You're left pondering how Jane had gotten that recipe-but most importantly, from /who/ exactly, did she get it?

You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, and sighing, you pulled it out;

'hey sweetie have a good day at school love you-TG'

Another message appeared on your pesterchum, and from an unknown 'chum';

'Thank Jane for me. And make sure your mother eats that whole cake herself. He loves that-?'

You blink, thinking to yourself.

_What the hell?_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

To Paint a Strider

Your name is Dave Strider, and you are currently a sobbing mess. You force yourself into a sitting position, pulling out your phone to message your daughter, making sure she knows how much you love her.

You crawl out of bed, making your way to the bathroom. This is how it goes, every December 2nd. (You're almost pretty sure thats your birthday). You lean against the counter, staring at your reflection;

_Where?_

_Why?_

_Who did this?_

You shake your head, running the sink and splashing water on your face.

This-you have decided-is going to be different than last year. You wont let yourself break down, because you know you need to be strong for Colette. John would want that.

You put your hand over your mouth, holding back sobs. You wonder how you turned from the happiest cool kid in the world, to the worst mother you could possibly be.

And thats when your mind goes back to that morning...

(BeginMemory1)

_"Hey darling, I wont be home til late tonight, they want me to stay late at the office. I'll call you once Im one the way home. And happy birthday, Dave," you smile as the voicemail ends, setting your phone down on the table. And as you do, you look down at the small girl in your arms. _

_And this beautiful little girl is somehow your daughter. You smile to yourself. And very, very slowly, you drift off to sleep_.

(EndMemory1)

As a Strider, you must force yourself to get over it. And this is something you very well know you cant. But if you don't? You don't want to go down that road again.

Straightening your shoulders, you walk out of the bathroom and back into your bedroom. You lay back down, and smile as your phone goes off.

_'She shouldn't be texting in school...but its nice knowing she cares_...'

You pick it up, your smile depleting slightly as you realize its from Jake, only your lovely little daughters 'friend'. You always found him kind of shady-not the creepy kind- but the kind that was almost..._too perfect_;

'Ey, Mr.S, just wanted to let yah know that I actually got Collie smilin' this mornin'. The gang'll be stoppin' by later today. Happy birthday, sir!-GT'

You sigh. This is your daughters best friend after all, and you cant help but be relieved that she has such great people around her.

Your phone dings again, causing you to jump;

'I understand today is an important day for you, . I wish you the best, and welcome to the game-?'

And this, is when you lose it.


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The next few chapters after this might have some triggers-self harm, suicide, eating disorders, and a ****_lot_**** of talk dealing with rape and kidnappings.**

And in turn, you decide to become the British kid.

-Be the British kid.

This day is one of the most important days in your life. Why? Simply because this is the one day of the year that Colette cries.

And you hate it.

Not because it makes her look unattractive-she always looks posh-but because she's your best friend. She's the one person who knows everything about you but still listens when you tell your enduring adventure tales.

You can still remember that night, very clearly in your head. Almost as if it happened only moments ago.

You are a year older than Colette, but you are in the same grade as she. You hate the way you look and are very self-concious.

Oh! Excuse me,

Your name is Jake English, and you are currently waiting for Jane and Colette to meet you outside.

You drive Jane home everyday, and most days Colette prefers to walk. Her house isn't that far. But its starting to get colder out, so you insist you drive her to school every morning and back home every evening.

You're going over to Colette's to keep her company-more for the reason so she doesn't do what she did last year, and how her mum...well, lets just say you don't want to remember that right now.

"Yo! English! You ready, or are we just gonna stand here with you lookin' starry eyed all day?" You jump at the sound of Colette's voice, being pulled out of your daze.

"Ah, quite right, mate. Blimey, Strider, why arent you wearing a coat? Its nearly 30 degrees outside."

"Whats your point?" She stares at you, snatching your glasses from off your face and wiping them off on her shirt.

"Oi! I need those to see! I don't need to get in an accident and have your death on my hands."

"Feel free, sounds like fun anyways," she hands them back to you, and you start to lead them back to your car.

On the drive to Collie's house, you try to engage in the girls' conversation-but you can't keep up.

"Collie! You can't keep doing that, your mother will be so scared when she finds out! There's no way you'll be able to hide it for much longer," you hear Jane shout at Colette, who is staring out the window with a blank expression on her face.

"Janey, my mother doesn't bother talking to me much anymore. We kind of just sit together and watch movies and cry until we fall asleep. He won't find out-unless you tell him."

Before Jane can reply, you're parking your car on the curb outside the Strider/Egbert household.

As you walk inside, you hear your phone go off, and you pull it out.

_One new message_

You don't know who could be messaging you-only Jane, Colette, and her mother have your chumhandle. But you read the message anyways;

_'Take Colette to the park this evening, there's quite a surprise for her and her friends-?'_

Jane pokes your arm, and you look up at her, putting your phone away, "Whatcha reading?"

You shake your head, shrugging it off as you follow Colette inside and up to her room, Jane close at your heels.

"Nothing," you reply. But you can't help but wonder _what_ exactly will be waiting at the park.

And you decide to become the mysterious character who hosts 'the game'.


	4. Chapter 4

And you decide to become the mysterious character who hosts 'the game'.

-This role is too sophisticated for even you.

So, you go with the next best option.

-Be the Strider.

You go back to being the Strider girl, and you are currently aggravated. You cannot decide what movie the three of you should watch while you wait for your mother to finish cooking dinner.

You groan, and Jake pats your shoulder, "Ey, no need to stress; just get a christmas movie. How bout that one your dad use to love?"

You nod, turning to look at Jane as you grab the movie and hold it up, "You cool with that?" She shrugs in response, smiling at you.

"Whatever you'd like, Collie."

"Would you stop calling me that? Makes me sound like a dog," you move to put the movie in, turning on your tv as well as the dvd player.

"As soon as you stop calling me Janey."

Your room isn't all that big-to you. Both Jane and Jake believe it to be fairly large, considering its the basement of your house and they both live in apartments.

You find it very cozy: with your bed nestled in the corner, a bookshelf always stocked with classics, a small couch, and a supremely tiny kitten.

You love cats, with a burning passion, and only Jake knows this. That is why he got it for you over the summer, saying he found it outside. But you know he _did not_ find this beautiful little creature in the outdoors.

And your kitten has a very nice hiding place on your bookshelf, right next to your copy of _Joan of Arc_. This is your favorite book; besides the copy of the joke book your father gave you when you were little.

You keep that hidden, however. Far out of sight from your mother.

You snap back to reality as Jake scoops you up into his arms, throwing you over his shoulder.

"Jake! You douche, put me down!" You groan, pushing at his shoulders. He just laughs at you, setting you down on the couch next to Jane.

"Touch me again, and I swear, I'll make sure you can't walk for days," you know, of course, that you really won't.

Jane squeals, "Collie! Its not okay to hurt your friends!" However, she laughs it off as she shoves you playfully.

"Hey, Colette? Why don't we go to the park? We haven't been there in years," Jake interrupts the two of you. You turn and glare daggers at him, becoming completely serious.

"Oh, we should! Oh come on, we've just got to!" Jane smiled, grabbing your forearm. You flinch, muttering a silent, "Ow."

She drops your arm, "Sorry...but...we just must go! Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

You lean your head back against the couch, sighing, "Fine. But I am _not_ walking."


End file.
